Handling It
by CheekyBrunette
Summary: Sometimes it takes a lot to be a superhero, especially when you're really just a kid with no one to look out for you.  Beast Boy knows it better than most, and who better to comfort him than someone who knows exactly what he's going through?


**I've decided that the only song I'm going to put on now and forever for any reason until December 26 is "Baby It's Cold Outside" sung by Darren Criss and Chris Colfer because just judging by my iTunes account? We're on listen 81 for the past two days, and I'm not sick of it yet. Anyway, so I doubt I ever will…**

**Now, a lovely person, BigTimeBTRDude, inspired me to write yet another Teen Titans fic, and how could I resist? After all, I LOVE BEAST BOY AND ROBIN! And apparently, there are only SEVEN pages of the two of them (not including M, in which case, I think it WOULD be ten or eleven…) and that simply won't do.**

**So once again, through the mystic Cheeky powers of old, I bring you to TEEN TITANS LAND. It's a magical place, filled with much hilarity, dark pasts, and not NEAR enough whumpage for my FCMD needs. For the love of all that is good, someone needs to beat the crap out of Beast Boy for me. I don't care who. Just… someone.**

People always thought it was random, the times something set him off, but they were wrong. Truth was, it just didn't have to be anything big. It never really _was_ anything big. Normally it was something small. Something very small, but when you thought about it, was something you would definitely notice missing if it suddenly wasn't there.

It's the dumb little things tend to take over people's lives without them noticing. Sometimes they're things that most everyone has, like the knowledge there's someone to tuck you in if you really want to be or the feeling of someone else's hand slipping into your own. Other times it's more specific, like a song always sung when you were brushing your teeth or the tickle of a pinch to the ribs as you pass in the hall.

There are always those tiny things that make you _miss _someone. That make you tired of trying to forget, to move on. The smallest of moments are the ones that leave the biggest impressions, and some people knew that better than others.

So when the team's little grass stain suddenly latched onto Robin, sobbing into his chest, he didn't know what he did wrong.

* * *

><p>There was nothing particularly special or memorable about the day. It had been one of those rare occasions where Robin had actually let them all leave the tower, opting to go out on a picnic versus staying inside the gloomy gray walls all day. It had been fun, too, especially for Beast Boy. He didn't like being cooped up, being caged in, and had totally soaked up every second of fresh air he could get his hands on.<p>

They had literally spent all day at the park. Training started _and_ ended before dawn on Mondays (and yes, it was just as torturous as you're probably making it out to be), and with nowhere to be, the Titans had no problem with getting an early start and bringing their waffles to a picnic table. Lunch was pizza to deliver, dinner was pizza at a parlor, and in between they managed to squeeze in football, volleyball, foursquare, and _leap frog._ Don't ask. It wasn't until 2am when they were called to duty, directly after the usual movie marathon. Training began in three hours.

Fantastic.

The tower filled with a familiar red glow and a seriously obnoxious buzzing as the alarm sounded. It happened to be the same noise as all of the Titans' alarm clocks, making it that much more unbearable. Despite complaining loudly about the noise every time the blasted thing went off, Robin never would change it. Something about getting them out the door faster…

Anyway, after Starfire managed to find her left boot, Cyborg put some gas in the T-car, and Beast Boy had hit the little boys' room, they hit the road. They weren't in much of a hurry that evening, just Doctor Light trying to rob one of those little shops that sell crystal figurines. It would probably be a good idea to stop him now, but seriously? It was Doctor Light. After he failed to filter the power of the northern lights into his suit, the man had been ridiculously easy to defeat. And, really, what _successful _villain dared to do their thing on a Titan's turf?

They arrived at the shop, unfortunately not late enough to miss Doctor Light's boring monologue. If it wasn't the various injuries, the boring speeches were definitely the worst part of being a superhero. "Seriously, why?" Raven asked, interrupting him mid-scheme. "Why do you keep trying?" Starfire stifled a giggle. It was the umpteenth time Raven had asked, followed by what would be the umpteenth time Doctor Light would fail.

"Well, maybe we should shed some light on the situation!" the criminal exclaimed, and Cyborg rubbed his temples.

"Seriously? It wasn't witty or funny the first time. Stop bantering if you don't know how," he said, annoyed. Doctor Light just smirked and sent one of his laser beams in the Teen Titan's general direction, but naturally missed all of them. "That all you got?" Cyborg asked, sending his own beam at the villain, his sonic cannon whirring. Doctor Light gritted his teeth together, dodging Cyborg's attack and warding off Starfire and Raven as they neared with a couple more blasts fired from his hands.

He stepped backwards, straight into Robin's foot as the leader of the team kicked him towards Beast Boy, who finished him off with a T-Rex Two Step, slamming him with his tail into the wall of the store, figurines rattling on their glass shelves, but not one with a broken wing, arm, leg, or anything else their creators managed to sculpt on. Doctor Light fell to the ground, unconscious, as Beast Boy morphed back into his usual self.

"Another success!" Starfire yelped, lowering to the ground and clasping her hands next to her cheek. Cyborg held up his hand for a high five, and Starfire gave it her all, sending him careening into the shop's front desk. She started towards Raven, who slinked away nervously.

But Robin wasn't paying attention to any of that. His complete focus was directed towards the youngest member of the team. The scrawny boy was doubled over, his eyes open wide and flickering with something that looked almost like… fear? Robin frowned, as Cyborg nudged him. "How about some early morning pizza?" the big guy asked, and the leader just shrugged.

"Whatever," he answered, never shifting his gaze from Beast Boy. The green teen should be jumping around in glee right now, pumped for _more_ of his second favorite food. (When you're a titan, you have an obscene tolerance for the stuff.) However, he was just standing there, wearing an odd, shell-shocked look on his usually cheery face. Robin scratched the back of his head, and walked over to the skinny kid. "Hey, Beast Boy, are you okay?" he asked, watching as it Beast Boy took a second to process the question.

"Um… yeah, I guess… yeah," he answered slowly, and Robin's eyebrows furrowed together, bending his mask down a bit. It was then he noticed a scorch mark on the hip of his teammate's uniform. He reached down, touching it, but Beast Boy flinched away. "No, that? That's fine, just don't… don't touch it. It's fine. I can handle it," Beast Boy said, but Robin felt like he wasn't exactly trying to convince _him._ More like he was trying to convince _himself._

"It doesn't _look _like you can handle it," Robin said, ruffling the younger teen's green hair, a smile out of place on his usually serious expression. Beast Boy shuddered at the contact. Okay, something was _so_ up.

"I can-" Beast Boy cut off with a sniff, "I can- I can take c-care of it. H-His armor just- just lea-leaked a bit. It's'kay." Suddenly, there were tears rolling down Beast Boy's cheeks, and all Robin could thing was, _Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, what? What? What am I supposed to do? What even is this?_

"It… leaked?" Robin asked dumbly, and Beast Boy nodded and jumped onto him, squeezing around his middle and burying his face into his chest. Robin awkwardly wrapped his arms around the younger boy's shaking shoulders, hoping that was what he was supposed to do. Batman hadn't been keen on affection. Neither was Robin. Well, neither was Robin _anymore_. He sort of remembered there being lots of hugs and stuff before… before… never mind.

"I got sh-sh'cked," he chocked out, and Robin rubbed his back uncomfortably, feeling all of the ridges in his spine. This kid ate _so much_ and still only had one side to him. Suddenly, Robin was all too aware of the stares the rest of his team was giving them. _Dang it._ His mind raced to fin a possible way to get rid of them.

"Um… why don't you guys head to Liones?" Robin directed, figuring now was as good a time as any for pizza, especially since Cyborg suggested it. "We'll meet you there," he told them and watched as they flew off before returning all his attention to Beast Boy. He sat them down on an overly fluffy and floofy pink, lacy, floral couch. He pulled Beast Boy's face away from his now damp uniform, and thumbed the tears away from under the green teen's eyes. The clingy boy shifted into his lap the second he was done, hiding himself in the crook of Robin's neck. "Why don't you let me fix you?" Robin asked, not sure how he meant it, but Beast Boy responded just the same.

"Cause… cause I c-can do it," Beast Boy said, trying his hardest to sound sober. Robin arched an eyebrow.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked, and the younger boy shuddered.

"Cause I don't want to," he answered, and Robin had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Here was Beast Boy sobbing on him because he didn't want to do something he could. What was he, four? Robin attempted to stand up, but Beast Boy just clung to him tighter. "I w-want s-someone to- to do it for me," he said, and Robin nearly groaned. He had _just_ offered to do that! The boy wonder moved Beast Boy so he was sitting up on his own, kneeled to the ground, and pulled out some bandages and burn cream from his utility belt. It never hurt to be prepared…

"You know, I wanted to do this for you, but you didn't let me!" Robin exclaimed, feeling more than a bit frustrated. Seriously? All this… _closeness_ could have been avoided, had Beast Boy let him do this a couple minutes ago. The younger boy's breath caught in his throat, making Robin look up into his bright, emerald eyes. They still shone with that same thing Robin had seen in them earlier, fear, and he realized there was more to this moment than just a couple band aids.

"Th-thank you," Beast Boy said, gagging a bit on his own tears. Robin sighed and lowered his hands from the place on the shorter teen's hip that he was patching up and onto his knee. He bit his lip.

"What's going on with you. Why do you think that you need to be the one to do this? I would have done it in a nanosecond. Why did you think you had to?" he questioned, and Beast Boy sniffled, rubbing his nose on his already soaked sleeve, the spandex not absorbing much of anything. He looked incredibly sad and lost… like he couldn't figure out what to do with himself, he was so overwhelmed. Robin rubbed his leg, goading him on.

"Cause I have to do everything," he answered, speaking relatively clearly as the tears running down his cheeks started to slow. Robin knit his eyebrows together again in confusion.

"Why do you think that?" he asked, looking up at his green friend, his little ears pointed down and the whites of his eyes red, making his jade irises stand out and look very Christmas-y. If they had thought he was an elf before…

"Because no one else will," he answered, sounding half sad and half desperate. Desperate for _what_, though, was beyond Robin. Desperate to be proven wrong? To have everything done for him? Was this just a matter of loneliness?

"But, Beast Boy, I was going to do this for you. I would have. I am! What am I missing?" he asked.

"You… you don't t-take care of me all the time. Not like- not like…" he trailed off, hiccupping on his words, and suddenly the situation crashed down on Robin like a bag of bricks. He knew _exactly_ how Beast Boy felt, and everything started to immensely make sense. This wasn't about a electrical burn, or a band aid, or doing anything, really. This was about being very young, very scared, and having no one to take care of you. Robin cleared his throat.

"You… you miss your parents?" Robin asked, now not feeling up for this conversation, if he ever was in the first place. Beast Boy nodded, and Robin felt week at the knees. He rose and sat next to his teammate, running a hand through his dark hair. Robin didn't know if he could handle this. Because he had his own parents once upon a time. And he had been a kid in a role too big for him. And he had lived in a place where there wasn't anyone to fix you up, to kiss it better, to applaud you, or to praise you. Robin knew what it was liked to be ignored, and in the way, and pushed aside because whoever you looked up to, your caregiver, didn't see you as someone who needed care in the first place.

"It's too m-much," Beast Boy said, sounding very, very young and very, very small. Robin took a shaky breath and wrapped the younger boy up in a hug.

"I know," he said quietly because he did. He laced his fingers through Beast Boy's short hair. Being a superhero was very lonely. No friends, no family, and everyone expected you to do it on your own. People way older than you look in your direction for orders, and it was so, so scary. Because inside, you're really just a kid, and you shouldn't have that much responsibility. Not when you have your own four other people to take care of first, your own four people who looked to you for everything. Supers don't get to let their guard down or let anyone in. They were supposed to handle everything themselves.

And Beast Boy didn't want to handle it himself.

But he was _supposed_ to.

Robin hated that he now knew how Beast Boy felt because now… Well, now he was going to have to make sure Beast Boy was okay. He was going to have to be the one to fix him up, to kiss it better, to applaud him, and to praise him. Beast Boy needed that. He was still a kid, but Robin… Robin didn't know if he _could _do that for him. He was just a kid, too.

"Beast Boy," he said, the store quiet and empty aside from the miniature figurines staring at them. "If you ever need anyone to do anything, I'll do it for you," he assured him, and they locked eyes. A lot went through that stare, and Robin got his first _real_ look at Beast Boy. He saw everything, from the fear that kept him always moving, to the deep sadness in his eyes that came from one lost family, and one that wronged him.

Robin was suddenly very grateful for his mask as it dawned on him how raw he probably looked beneath it. He didn't want to be deceived by his eyes like Beast Boy currently was. They were just _so similar_, but he'd never let him know that. He was the leader, invincible, and that's how he intended to stay.

"Thank you," Beast Boy said, finally done crying, and Robin put a hand on his shoulder.

"No problem," he lied.

Cause he was a superhero who couldn't let his guard down, a kid in a role too big for him, and he had people to take care of.

**This was sort of weird… but it took FOREVER! Luckily, I'm done! I'm now going to clean both me AND my room. Then probs my bathroom. Then I'm hopefully going to write more. YAY!**


End file.
